Unpublishing a course hides it from students but keeps all your content intact

To unpublish a course in Canvas, open the course, go to Settings in the left navigation menu, scroll to the Course State section, and change the status from Published to Unpublished. Save your changes. The course will no longer appear in your students' course list, and they cannot access it, but all your materials, assignments, and grades remain stored in Canvas and can be republished later.

Unpublishing is useful when you are redesigning a course, preparing it for a future term, or temporarily removing it from view. Unlike deleting a course, unpublishing preserves everything you have built. The change takes effect when ready once you save, so students will not see the course the next time they log in or refresh their browser.

Key Takeaways

  • Unpublishing a course hides it from students when ready but does not delete any content, grades, or assignments.
  • The unpublish option is in Settings under Course State, and the change takes effect as soon as you save.
  • Students enrolled in an unpublished course cannot see it in their course list or access any materials in it.
  • You can republish the course at any time to make it visible and accessible to students again without losing any data.
  • Unpublishing is different from hiding a course from the dashboard — unpublished courses are completely inaccessible to students.

Step-by-step: unpublishing your course

Open your course in Canvas. In the left navigation menu, click Settings near the bottom of the list. This takes you to the course settings page where you control visibility and other course-level options.

On the Settings page, look for the Course State section. You will see a dropdown menu showing the current state of your course — either Published or Unpublished. Click the dropdown and select Unpublished. This is the only setting you need to change to hide the course from students.

Scroll to the bottom of the Settings page and click the Update Course Details button to save your change. The course is now unpublished. Students will no longer see it in their course list, and the course will not appear in their dashboard. If you have multiple courses, only this one is affected.

What happens to your course content when you unpublish

All your course materials stay exactly where they are. Assignments, quizzes, discussion boards, files, pages, modules, and any other content you created remain in the course. Grades and student submissions are also preserved. Nothing is deleted or lost when you unpublish.

The only change is visibility: students cannot see the course or access any of its content while it is unpublished. If you republish the course later, everything will be there unchanged, and students will be able to see and use it again. Your course structure, due dates, and all settings remain exactly as they were.

When to unpublish instead of delete

Unpublish a course when you plan to use it again in the future, even if that is months away. Unpublishing is also the right choice if you are still building the course and do not want students to see incomplete materials yet. Use unpublish when you want to keep a record of the course and all student work for your own reference or institutional records.

Delete a course only if you are certain you will never need it again and do not need to keep any record of student submissions or grades. Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Most instructors find unpublishing safer because it preserves your work and student data while removing the course from view.

Republishing a course you unpublished

To make an unpublished course visible again, return to Settings, find the Course State dropdown, and select Published. Click Update Course Details to save. The course will reappear in your students' course list when ready, and they will have access to all the original content.

There is no waiting period or additional steps required. Republishing is when ready, and your course will look exactly as it did before you unpublished it. Students will see it in their dashboard on their next login or page refresh. You can unpublish and republish a course as many times as you need.

Unpublishing versus hiding a course from the dashboard

Unpublishing removes the course from students' view entirely — they cannot access it or see it listed anywhere in Canvas. Hiding a course from the dashboard (a different setting) keeps the course published and accessible, but removes it from the student's course list view. Students can still find and enter a hidden course if they have the direct link or if they search for it by name.

If you want students to have no access at all, unpublish. If you want to reduce clutter in their dashboard but keep the course accessible for students who need it, hide it instead. Both options are in Settings, but they serve different purposes. Unpublishing is the stronger action and is what you need if you want the course completely unavailable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will students get a notification when I unpublish a course?

Canvas does not send an automatic notification to students when you unpublish a course. However, if students are currently in the course, they will notice it disappears from their course list the next time they log in or refresh their browser.

Can I unpublish a course if students are already enrolled?

Yes. You can unpublish a course at any time, regardless of enrollment status. Enrolled students will lose access when ready, but their grades and submissions remain stored in the course and will be visible again if you republish it.

What if I unpublish a course by mistake?

Republish it when ready by going back to Settings, changing Course State to Published, and saving. There is no undo button, but republishing restores the course to its previous state in seconds with no data loss.

Does unpublishing affect course grades or student records?

No. Unpublishing does not change, delete, or hide any grades or student submissions. All records remain in Canvas and are accessible to you. Students cannot see their grades while the course is unpublished, but the data is not lost.

Can I unpublish a course and still see it myself?

Yes. As the instructor, you can always see and access your unpublished course. You can view all content, grades, and submissions. Only students are blocked from seeing an unpublished course.